Ideal timing at Kämna
“I almost thought I lost it“, said Kämna at the dramatic end of the stage, when Lopez had withdrawn at short notice. “But I caught him and was able to recover before the sprint. I am very, very happy. This win takes a lot of pressure.” In the overall standings, Kämna is second, 39 seconds behind Lopez.
As at the start of the Giro in Hungary, Kämna was extremely aggressive after the transfer day. He knew what was waiting for him: 172 difficult kilometers from Avola to Mount Etna, a good chance for the in-form all-rounder from Wedel, who used the first breakaway group to escape the favorites in the field. They took it easy at first, the tour was only decided in the last week.
Dutchman Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo-Visma) dropped back as one of the favourites, Colombian Miguel Angel Lopez from the Astana Qazaqstan team retired due to a hip injury.
Buchmann is also convincing
Kämna’s teammate Emanuel Buchmann also showed a strong performance, finishing 2:37 minutes after Kämna with the favorites Richard Carapaz from Ecuador (Ineos) and the Briton Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange-Jayco).
Buchmann, former tour fourth, is one of the three captains at Bora in 21st place, 2:39 minutes behind in the overall standings. Only Dutchman Wilco Keldermann (+1:55) is better placed in the strong German team. Yates (+1:42) and Olympic champion Carapaz (+2:06) are also doing well after the first mountain stage.
It’s getting flat again
The fifth stage from Catania, the second largest city in Sicily, to the port city of Messina could again belong to the sprinters led by their king Mark Cavendish if they survive the second category climb to the Portella Mandrazzi. On Thursday we go to the Italian mainland, the Giro ends after 3410 km on May 29th.